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November 18, 2016 - The CAMP Report 2015

Introduction and Programs

A Note about the CAMP Report 2015

Now that the auditor’s reviewed financials are complete for the year 2015, the following is the CAMP Rehoboth Annual Report for that year. It contains a continuing effort to better gather outcome statistics on our programs and activities, (an effort that will show even more improved results in the 2016 report to come next year). Also included, are the overarching strategies from the three year strategic plan developed in 2014.

CAMP Rehoboth is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community service organization dedicated to creating a more positive environment in Rehoboth Beach and its related communities. For 26 years, CAMP Rehoboth has promoted cooperation and understanding between the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community, and the greater world around it, and has worked to build a safer and more inclusive community with room for all. We celebrate progress and the passage of marriage equality; yet, sweeping legislative changes do not change attitudes. As the 2016 election will attest, there is still much work to be done to create a welcoming community for all. CAMP Rehoboth continues to work to: promote community well-being; foster the development of community groups; develop community space; promote human and civil rights; work against prejudice and discrimination; lessen tensions in the community; and help foster economic growth.

Introduction

The CAMP Rehoboth Community Center is the “Heart of the Community,” providing tangible value as a gathering place for solace, support, and celebration, and as a hub for a wide range of activities. The Community Center also carries great symbolic value as evidence that LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) people have gained equality and the inherent right to participate as citizens who benefit from and contribute to the greater good of our society.

Founded in 1990, CAMP Rehoboth was partially modeled on the region’s early religious camps which brought people together for peaceful, educational and healing activities. CAMP (“Creating a More Positive”) Rehoboth dedicated itself to bridging the divide between the straight and LGBT communities of Rehoboth Beach. It has been instrumental in creating respectful dialogue and cooperation among town officials, the police, medical institutions, schools, and commerce about LGBT issues. Over its history, CAMP Rehoboth has earned a local and state reputation for promoting community well-being, working against prejudice, and helping to foster economic growth in our area.

Twenty-six years later, CAMP Rehoboth is going strong and growing bigger with a broad portfolio of activities promoting health (e.g., health screening HIV-AIDS, mental health support); community service (sensitivity training with park and city police, environmental clean-ups, work with food banks, disability programs and homeless shelters); youth programs; senior outreach (especially with the growth of Sussex County’s over 55 population, now over 40% of the total); policy education and research; and the performing and creative arts. CAMP Rehoboth is a vibrant, welcoming, and service organization committed to building a positive future for the LGBT and larger communities of Sussex County.

2015 CAMP Rehoboth Program Outcomes

Community Center

•The CAMP Rehoboth Community Center, a full service Community Center, is "the Heart of the Community." The Center includes a large multi-purpose room, gallery space, conference rooms, a library/reading room, and the CAMP Rehoboth Courtyard.

•The Center is a vibrant cultural center that is used to promote artistic expression and creative thinking, and give aid to artists and craftspeople.

•CAMP Rehoboth sponsors concerts, plays, book signings, musical performances, art shows, and other cultural and public gatherings in the multi-purpose room.

•Friendly staff and volunteers greet thousands of individuals who walk through the doors of the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center each year seeking information and assistance.

•Over 590 hours of space was provided by CAMP Rehoboth at reduced or no cost to local nonprofits that otherwise could not afford it. The donated space is valued at $35,460.

•The 85 member CAMP Rehoboth Chorus, which provides high quality musical entertainment for audiences throughout the community, uses the multi-purpose room for rehearsals.

•The Chorus concerts had over 1,500 attendees.

•10 Art Exhibits by 68 new and emerging artists were held in the gallery space.

Health and Well-being

•CAMP Rehoboth offers programs that support community well-being on all levels. Health Days, held in conjunction with Beebe Healthcare, provide essential health screenings and over 280 flu shots to the community.

•CAMPsafe, now in its 18th year, provides free rapid and confidential HIV testing and HIV prevention services to Sussex County and those who visit Rehoboth Beach. Support and referrals are offered to persons testing positive for HIV.

•Nonprofit groups that promote community well-being regularly use the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center for meetings, including Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous.

•CAMP Rehoboth sponsors many discussion groups, including the men’s discussion group, grief counseling, and women’s discussion group. In 2015 seven new discussion groups were initiated, including several serving the Transgender community and the aging LGBT population.
•In partnership with the DE Breast Cancer Coalition, CAMP Rehoboth sponsors the annual Broadwalk on the Boardwalk, commemorating survivors of cancer and their supporters. In 2015, $11,600 was raised for DBCC and 271 attended.

•CAMP Rehoboth also organizes the annual Candlelight Walk in December as part of World AIDS Day.

•As part of CAMPsafe, 4,930 individual outreach contacts were made in 2015. Over 78,800 safe sex kits were distributed. 514 HIV tests were conducted, with 52 individuals participating in the Health Counseling Program.

Outreach, Education and Advocacy

•CAMP Rehoboth provides education and outreach to the larger community, promoting positive images of LGBT people, functioning as a networking and information resource, supporting local nonprofits that work toward the betterment of the community, and fostering the economic growth of the area.

•An average of 20,000 page views per month is received on CAMP’s website.

•CAMP Rehoboth publishes and distributes Letters from CAMP Rehoboth. This 90 to 120-page magazine is a valuable resource for residents and people visiting the area.

•CAMP Rehoboth fosters the development of nonprofit groups that support CAMP Rehoboth’s mission, and helps them with their fundraising by donating advertising space in Letters from CAMP Rehoboth.

•CAMP Rehoboth’s Women’s FEST has expanded from a half-day event in 2001 to a five-day conference of information sessions, events, and entertainment. This program fosters economic growth throughout the area by bringing thousands to Rehoboth, with half of the attendees coming from out-of-state.

•In conjunction with Seashore Striders, CAMP Rehoboth helps organize the annual Sundance Land and Sea Racing Festival, now in its sixth year.

•For the last 24 years, CAMP Rehoboth leadership has provided sensitivity training to city and park police, lessening tensions among the community at large.

•In addition, leadership works against prejudice by intervening where appropriate to help LGBT people in discriminatory situations.

•CAMP Rehoboth promotes human and civil rights and advocates at both the local and state level on behalf of the LGBT community on such issues as marriage equality and gender identity.

•CAMP Rehoboth maintains a very small staff and used 475 volunteers this year to carry out its critical programs and services.
•36 volunteers attended a CAMP Rehoboth orientation, which allows them to learn more about volunteer opportunities that match their skills and interests.

•In 2015, CAMP Rehoboth Outreach Program (CROP) participated in 16 community service projects, with 179 volunteers providing 620 hours of community service. This equates to a value of $12,400 provided to nonprofit/community organizations in need.

Strategies: To maximize usage of Community Center space and staff to live fully into the mission, purpose, and vision of the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center; to continue to create a more positive world for LGBT people and to make the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center the heart of the community; to be proactive in creating a long and short term plan for facilities maintenance; to staff and run the facility in the most efficient way possible.

Strategies: To continually assess programs for relevance, need, impact, effort, and relation to mission, purpose, and vision; to find ways to encourage creative exploration of possible new programming for the Community Center; to meet the programming needs of all facets of the LGBT community (youth, transgender, elderly, newly retired, racial diversity).

Strategies: To always build the CAMP Rehoboth brand; to continually and clearly define who CAMP Rehoboth is and what it is we do; to always and in every way live up to our goal of creating a more positive world around us, and a welcoming home for all; to work to create efficient means of communicating on multiple platforms (print, web, press, email); to remain relevant to the changing world around us.

Strategies: To continually provide the funding, resources, talent, and energy required for the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center to live fully into its mission and vision; to protect and build our 25 year mission of creating a welcoming home for all; to always and thoughtfully consider what we ask people to give, how we respond to what they give, and how we recognize what they give.
*Category is defined by what is given—money, time, talents, leadership skills, etc.

2015 CAMP Rehoboth Audit

“We have reviewed the accompanying financial statements of CAMP Rehoboth, Inc. (a nonprofit organization), which comprise the statement of assets, liabilities and net assets—modified cash basis as of December 31, 2015, and the related statements of revenue, expenses and changes in net assets—modified cash basis and functional expenses—modified cash basis for the year then ended, and the related notes to the financial statements. A review includes primarily applying analytical procedures to management's financial data and making inquiries of management. A review is substantially less in scope than an audit, the objective of which is the expression of an opinion regarding the financial statements as a whole. Accordingly, we do not express such an opinion.”